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Fallon House Hotel

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1854–1856, Cephas Batcheler. 131 E. Water St.

This hotel was partially financed by monies from Spanish royalty. During the nineteenth century, when Spain's government was in constant turmoil, local land agents John and Christopher Fallon were asked to invest royal funds in the United States. It was thought that if Queen Isabella II's right to succeed to the throne were denied, she might be forced to seek refuge in the United States. Her courtiers planned for her to come to Clinton County and live on a 50,000-acre parcel of land owned by the Fallons in Colbrook Township. The Fallon House Hotel was built to serve those who might come to visit the court of the Queen.

Designed by local builder-architect Cephas Batcheler (1803–1896), the hotel was originally covered with stucco, but sandblasting has exposed the brick beneath. The top floor has an observatory, and the casement windows are original. The heavy brackets between the observatory windows and the window hoods are the only remaining pieces of Italianate decoration. The building initially had an iron balcony that ran the entire width of the south elevation. The loss of this balcony and a square cupola with large Palladian windows has taken away some, but certainly not all, of the qualities that once distinguished this building.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Lu Donnelly et al.
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Citation

Lu Donnelly et al., "Fallon House Hotel", [Lock Haven, Pennsylvania], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-01-CN7.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of PA vol 1

Buildings of Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, Lu Donnelly, H. David Brumble IV, and Franklin Toker. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, 431-431.

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